Lakshmi…..I wanna feel all that love and emotion
Japanese-American singer/songwriter Conan Gray embarked on his fifth headlining tour earlier this year with a stop about halfway through at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage. In Toronto, I knew many people who went to the concert only for Maisie Peters and left as a fan of Conan Gray. Were you one of them?
The tour commenced in Melbourne, Australia, on July 11, 2024, and ended in London, England, on November 10, 2024. The tour, which included 40 performances, journeyed across seven countries on three continents.
As usual wearing outfits inspired by MJ, David Bowie and Queen, Conan did not disappoint in his glittering ensembles, while serenading the crowd with his absolutely emotional vocals. I first heard Idle Town and Grow years ago, when he was relatively unknown. As expected after releasing multiple hits, he rose to fame around Maniac and Heather. So, when I had the opportunity to see him, I did not want to miss it.
It was a rainy day in Toronto, perhaps the perfect weather to hear his melodramatic music. When the opening act Maisie Peter’s performance was over, they lowered a huge black banner with the Found Heaven sign on it, covering the entire stage. We waited for a while before the opening to Found Heaven suddenly started playing, lights flashed, and smoke filled the air. Then, when the song changed to Fainted Love, the enormous flag suddenly fell to the ground and Conan Gray was lifted on a platform. He went on to sing Never-Ending Song, Wish You Were Sober, Eye of the Night, Killing Me and The Exit.
Then he went on to ask if any member in the audience was celebrating their birthday and engaged the crowd (and that person) to a joyful rendition of Happy Birthday, originally by Milfred J. Hill and Patty Hill.
Then came one of my favourite songs- People Watching. I almost cried hearing it live- what else can I say? He can sing alright. After performing The Cut That Always Bleeds and Jigsaw, he performed his most recent hit called Family Line.
Many people in the audience were teary-eyed already. As he sang Family Line, the audience literally broke down. I am not kidding when I say, this song inflicted deep cuts. I heard loud crying, heavy sobbing and heaving throughout the song. To make matters even more emotional, Conan himself was sobbing on stage as he marvelled at the wonder of being able to perform in front of an audience of 60,000 people, which he could never imagine even in his wildest dreams. This song is especially meaningful to him as it includes references to his own upbringing.
Family Line was followed by an acoustic performance of The Story. Astronomy was next as he wandered around the stage in a space shift of mindlessness, followed by Found Heaven, Boys & Girls, the upbeat Lonely Dancers and Winner. He soulfully sang Heather with an additional original verse, transcending the venue into questionable realism.
For his encore performance, he sang Bourgeoiseses after changing into a ‘Belieber’ shirt, followed closely by Maniac and Alley Rose.
I believe Conan Gray is quite interactive and loves to talk to his audience. He doesn’t exactly dance around, but the instruments played by his band are accompanied by strong vocals, which is fantastic as it is not easy to sing in front of a large crowd. Plus, through many songs, the audience turned on their mobile lights, making it a surreal experience.
So yes, I liked it.
Lakshmi
